Petters



(No Model.)

' 3 Shets-Sheet i. P. G. DIETERIOH.

VENDING MACHINE.

Patented M31". 11, 1890 Witness e0 (No Model.) v Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. G. DIETERIOH.

, VENDING MACHINE. No. 423,033. Patented Mar. 11, 1890.

N. FFrERsv Photo-Lithographe Washinglnn. n. c,

(No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 3. F.v G. DIETERIOH.

VENDING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 11, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED e. DIETERICH, on WASHINGTON, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA, AssieNoR TO JOHN U. OMEARA, or SAME PLACE.

VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,033, dated March 11, 1890.

Application filed September 14, 1889 Serial No. 323,898. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED G. DIETEEICH, a citizen of the United States, residing at ashington city, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in vendingMachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a vending apparatus more especially designed for the sale of cigars, it being obvious, however, that itmay be used for the sale of other articles with but I 5 slight alterations without changing the essential partsof the apparatus. As is well known, machines of this class are operated by means of the insertion of a coin, which releases certain locking mechanism, soas to permit the delivery-slide, which brings the article within reach of the purchaser, to be operated. In the general construction of machines of this character they are usually provided with a receiving-hopper which feeds the cigars or 2 5 other articles to the feed-slide in such a man ner that a single cigar will be discharged when the operating-lever or pull-rod is manipulated by the purchaser. This construction is very objectio11able-first, because, ac-

3o cording to the laws relating to internal revenue, tobacco in any shape can only be sold from the originally-stamped box or package; sec'ond,by feeding them through a hopper they become more or less jammed or broken.

w Machineshave also been patentedwhere the cigars have been placed on a platform within the casing with one-end of the box removed, so as to allow the cigars to feed from the box to the delivery apparatus. This I 40 character of machines has been found ob jectionable, because no means are employed whereby the cigars within the box are loosened from their original compactly-pressed state, so they will always feed in place.

The object of my invention is to simplify the construction of such devices, and to pro dime a machine in which the cigars being sold and the brand thereof will always be in sight of l the purchaser, as well also as the revenue-stamp, so the purchaser can readily see the character of the cigar he is buying, and the inspector of revenues can seem; a

; glance that the law regulating the sale of cigars is being complied with.

It has also for its object to produce a machine which will be cheap as to cost, easy to manipulate, one which will not readily get 1 out of order, and which will be effective for j its desired purpose. i

To this end my invention consists, first, in

, arranging an inclined reciprocating support 1 or holder for the cigars to rest on, which is "provided with a discharge-opening at one end, arranging said reciprocating support at an angle, and corrugating its upper surface,

, whereby the cigars will be effectively stirred up without injury thereto at each movement of said support.

It also consists in suitable connections between said reciprocating support and a recip- 7o assume their normal or rest positions; and, finally, my invention consists in the peculiar I combination, construction, and arrangement of the several parts, all of which will herein- 8o after be fully described in the annexed specification and particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective front View of my improved vending-machine. Fig. 2 is a per spective rear view thereof. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the same on the line 3 8, Fig. 4. Fig. a is a horizontal section of the machine with the top or cigar-support re- 0 moved. Fig. 5 is a detail cross-scction of the same on the line 5 5, Fig. 4. Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 8 are detail views of the coin-chute heroine after specifically referred to. Fig. 9 is a detail view of one of the brackets or supports. Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of the reciprocating cigar-support, and Fig. 11 is a detail view of the trip-lever or locking-pawl. In the accompanying drawings, A indicates the case of the machine, which may be contoo structed of wood or metal or a combination of wood and metal, as I shall in practice construct the front wall A of a single casting suitably nickeled and of appropriate design.

Secured to the inner side walls of the case are inclined ways or brackets a a, upon which is supported and slides the reciprocating merchandise support or holder B, the form of which is shown in detail in Fig. 10 of the drawings. This support is removable, and when used in connection with the selling of cigars forms the bottom of the cigar-box proper. In the practical adjustment of the same, when it isdesired to place it in operative position, it is first removed from the casing through a suitably-arranged door I) in the rear of the case and placed over the inverted or bottom side of the cigar-box, (the bottom of said box having first been removed.) The said box is then held in position upon the support B between its side guides or ribs Z) I), and the box and support then placed in position in the case.

Stop-blocks c c are arranged in the casing to limit the forward movement of the box, and a suitable locking-pawl D, provided with a cam-face d, engages the rear upper end of box and holds same in position on its support 13.

The casing A is provided with a glass-covered sight-opening E in its top, whereby the brand and revenue-stamp may be readily seen by the purchaser or other person.

By reference to Fig. 3 it will be observed that the support B is somewhat longer than the box or receptacle F, said extended portion being normally in advance of the front wall f of the box. In this portion of the support is formed a feed-opening B, of a size sufficiently large'to admit of the easy passage of an ordinary-sized cigar, the rear edge 19 of said opening being rounded and projecting normally slightly inside the end f of the box to facilitate the dropping or rolling of a cigar into said opening when said support is moved backward, in a manner presently described, said movement being only of such a degree as to admit of said support being moved backward to the extent of the width of the openin B.

Cigars, as usually placed in'their boxes, are pressed tightly in position, and, being usually green when put in the box, they, in their expansion, become 'so tightly wedged that it is even difficult to remove same by hand. To overcome this serious objection and to provide means for automatically loosening the cigars in the box, .I provide the upper face of said support B with transverse corrugations B, the central portion of said support being convexed longitudinally, as shown in Fig. 3. By this arrangement it will be seen that as thesupport is reciprocated back andforth the corrugations will not only tend to roll the cigars and move them, but will also, owing to the convexed shape of the center of said sup port, serve to lift said cigars. The support vention, and, so far as I know, no means for this purpose have before been employed in machines of this character.

The forward end of the support B, when in normal position, rests upon a horizontally-disposed reciprocating discharge-slide G, which rests at one edge upon a wooden bracket 9, while its opposite edge is supported upon a suitably-arranged metal bracket H. (Shown in detail in Fig. 9 of the drawings.) This slide is provided with an opening G, arranged transversely thereof, which is of a size sufficient to receive an ordinary-sized cigar, and which, when the said slide is in normal position, registers with discharge-opening B in the, support B, said opening G being nor mally over a transversely-arranged and vertically-adjustable bed-plate I, which, in connection with the opening G, forms a pocket to receive a cigar at the return of the support and slide after the sale of a preceding cigar. t

The rear wall of the opening G is inclined rearward, as at g, for the following purpose: When the slide Gis being pulled out and the support B travels back and upward, and after the opening thereof has received a cigar and the purchaser releases thelpull-rod K, the rear edge of the incline portion of the opening G will be under said opening B, and as the support moves forward and the slide backward it will be seen that the cigar will by gravity fall downward, while the support will push it forward, thereby forcing said cigar away from the inner lower edge f of the wall f of the box, and thereby preventing any possible jam of said cigar against said corner of the box.

To provide a simple means whereby said support and slide are operated to reciprocate in alternate directions, I connect same to links J J, which are centrally pivoted to supports j j, their lower ends engaging the studs g on the slide G, while their upper ends are forked at j j to receive the lugs 6 b projecting from the edges of the support, as shown, said ends being forked to facilitate the removal of said supports when desired. By this arrangement it will be readily understood that as the slide moves forward the support moves backward, and vice versa. The front end of the slide is recessed on its under side at G and is provided with an overhanging stop-plate G provided with an aperture 9 through which the operating-rod K passes, said rod being connected at its inner end to the cross-bar L of the operating-lever L, as shown. By this'construction it will be seen that as the rod K is pulled outward the bar L will engage the plate G and pull the slide outward to discharge'the cigar X into achute M,

ICO

IIO

which extends to without the front wall of thecase, as M, in convenient reach of the purchaser.

N denotes a coiled spring which retracts the slide and pulls the several parts back into normal position, the slide engaging a stop II on the bracket II, as clearly seen in Fig. 4: of the drawings.

By reference to Fig. 5 of the drawings it will be seen thatthc lower edge of one of the sides of the slide G is recessed, as shown at 9 said recess engaging the metal bracket, as shown. The rear end of the upper portion of the side gflwhich projects above the bracket, is provided with a retaining-plate N, which is provided with two projections or teeth a n. (See Fig. 4.)

, Pivotally supported on the bracket II is a horizontally-disposed stop-pawl or looking lever O, the forward end of which is formed with a projecting detent 0, which normally extends in the path of the tooth n of the retaining-plate N. The forward end 0 of this locking-pawl is proj ected forward of the coinehute P and extends parallel to the rearward extension L of the pull-rod K, the forwardend of said lever being provided with a lateral projection 0', which normally bears against the said extension L, as shown.

Q denotes a spring which bears against the head 0 of the lever O and holds the same normally in a locked position,

The pull-rod K, which is most clearly illustrated in Fig. lof the drawings, is provided with a rearward extension L, said extension being formed of spring metal, the inner end being projected laterally, as at 7a, which bears against the side wall a of the casing, forming a guide andsupport for said extension, as shown. It will be observed by reference toFig. 4 of the drawings that the said extension L is disposed to travel in front of and across the lower-front face of the coin-chute P. It will also be seen that I provide the inner face of the extension at the front, where it engages the said chute, with a laterally outwardly extending cam projection 73 and its outer face with a projection 7s which e11- gages the forward end 0 of the locking-lever O, for a purpose presently explained.

It is well known that heretofore in coinactuated machines the coin usually in falling actuates a gravity-pawl to release the (lQllV- cry-slide. In some cases the coinis used to form the connection between the slides to permit them tooperate. For this purpose I employ a coin-chute P, (most clearly illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8,) which is provided at its lower end with a contracted mouth P, which projects through an opening II in the bracket II, and which in the present instance is of such a width as to retain a coin of the sizeof a five-cent piece, but presents a clear passage for a coin of smaller dimensions. Thefront face 23 of the chute is cut away, as at 19, thereby permitting the major portion of one face of the coin to appear, said portion and yet provide simple means whereby said coin may be readily discharged into a suitable drawer or money-box R, I form the side wall 19 of said contracted mouth into a pivoted leaf P which is pivoted at p to the side walls of the chute, and is securely held in a closed position by a suitable leaf-spring S.

By reference to Fig. 7 it will be observed that I provide the lower end of the leaf P with a slot 19 of graduated Width, which forms an additional means of permitting a coin smaller than a five-cent piece to fall throughthe width of said slot, however not permitting the passage of the five-cent piece. This leaf P is also provided with a wing P, which projects beyond the free face of the coin.

By reference to the drawings it will be observed that the teeth a n are of a length equal to the thickness of the coin,'and that the cam projection is also of a size equal to the thickness of said coin. It will thus be seen that ifthere is no coin in the lower end of the chute a pull 011 the rod would cause the cam projection to pass across the front face of the chute without aifecting the locking-lever at all; but when a coin of the required thickness-as, for instance,a five-cent pieceis in position the cam projection would, when the rod is pulled out, engage the coin, and be thereby sprung backward until its end travels on the front face of the coin,

as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 4:, which in its movement would cause its projection 16 to engage the arm 0' of the lever O and throw it out of locked position, (see dotted lines,

Fig. 4,) and thereby permit the delivery-slide by a coin of less width than a five-cent pieceas, for instance, a dime-without changing the construction of the locking-lever 'and plate, I form the lower end of the chute with an enlargemcnuas shown at 1, Fig. 8, and recess said enlargement at 2 to permitlthe cam proj ectionK to pass thereacross when a coin is not in place, In this construction I also omitthe slot in the bottom of the pivoted leaf and contract the mouthof the chute to hold a dime in position. By this construe- I tion it will be seen that the combined thickness of the chute-wall and the dime will be equal to that of the five-cent piece and the i r length of the-toothn, and that when the rod K is pulled out its cam projection will operate over the dime in a manner similar to its operation over the five-cent piece.

As before stated, the operation of releas-- distance of less than the width of two cigars.

' gage the locking-lever before the parts can recede far enough toperniit the support to take up another cigar from the box. When the pull-rod K has been drawn out to its full extent, the cam projection 10 will have passed over the coin and engaged the wing P of the leaf P and swung it on its pivot, thereby opening the mouth of the chute P and allowing the coin to fall into the coin-receptacle, the extension then sprin gin gback to its normal position and the lever being pressed over against the plate N by the spring Q to engage the locking-teeth, as described.

A suitable door T is provided at the rear of the machine for the ready withdrawal of the coin-box.

By arranging the plate I adjustably the same can be readily lowered when it is desired to change the support B and slide G to feed two cigars at one time, such constructions being readily made without changing the materialparts of the machine. 1

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the advantages of my invention will be readily understood. It will be seen that the pull-rod has at its utmost but a limited amount of movement, and that by the constructions shown the several parts are so arranged that they can be cheaply made, quickly adjusted, and the danger of their getting out of order is reduced to a minimum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1S-

1. In a vending-machine, the combination, with the casing, guides or brackets secured therein, a longitudinally-movable deliveryslide,and intermediate connectingdevices projectin g upward from said delivery-slide, of a detachable longitudinally-movable merchandise-holder disposed above said delivery-slide, one end adapted to be supported on said slide, its other end supported on the aforesaid bracket and having a connection with said intermediate devices, said devices consisting of centrallypivoted links, whereby the movement of the slide in one direction will move the merchandise-holder in an opposite direction, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with the dischargingslide, of a merchandise-holder longitudinally movable over said slide, a receptacle held on said holder, such holder being provided with a discharge-opening normally disposed to the front edge of the receptacle, said holder adapted. to be moved longitudinally under said receptacle, whereby the feed-opening will be moved inward and permit the cigar or other article to be discharged through said holder onto the delivery-slide, and means for operating the said holder, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with a horizontallydisposed and longitudinally-movable delivery-slide, of a diagonally-disposed merchandise-holder provided with a discharge-opening at its lower ends supported over said horizontal slide, the centrally-pivoted links connected at their lower ends to the delivery-slide and at their upper ends to the merchandiseholder, and means for operating said slide,

substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the horizontallydisposed delivery-slide provided with a discharge-outlet, of the longitudinally-movable merchandise-holder located above said slide, the merchandise box or receptacle support-ed thereon, said holder provided with a feedopening normally disposed outside of the front end of said box and registering with the discharge-opening in said slide, said holder provided with a projection on its outer end adapted to strike the box on its rearward movement and thereby agitate its contents, and the intermediate pivoted links connected to said slide and holder for communicating reverse longitudinal motions thereto, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In a vending-machine, the combination, with the horizontally-reciprocating discharge mechanism, of the longitudinallymovable merch andise-holder provided with transverse corrugations on its upper face, said holder disposed diagonally above said discharge mechanism and provided with a feed-opening atits lower end communicatingwith said discharge mechanism, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

6. In a vending-machine, a longitudinally movable merchandise-holder having its upper face 7 convexed longitudinally and provided with transverse corrugations or ribs on said face, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination, with a longitudinallymovable merchandise-holder and means for agitating the same and the merchandise box or receptacle supported thereon, of the stops 0 c, for holding the box in position, and the locking-pawl D, provided with a cam-face 2', to engage the upper edge of said box, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. In a vending-machine, a merchandise holder or support consisting of a body or block having longitudinal flanges or ribs for holding the merchandise-box from lateral movement, 'a discharge-opening in one end, said opening normally disposed beyond the front wall of the box and adapted to receive a cigar or other article when moved back under said articles, and means for reciprocating said holder, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. The combination, with the merchandiseholder provided with anaperture, as B, nor mally disposed beyond the front wall of the merchandise-box, a discharge-slide provided with an aperture G, normally registering with said aperture l3 in the holder, a transverse support arranged below said aperture G for temporarily supporting the cigar, a discharge-chute extended to without the easing, and a connection between said holder and slide, whereby the opening in the holder is adjusted back to take up a cigar as the slide is pulled forward to discharge a cigar into said chute, substantially as shown and described.

10. The combination, with a longitudinallyreciprocating merchandiseholder provided with a discharge feed-opening, as B, of the longitudinally-reciprocating discharge slide provided with an opening, as G, normally registering with the opening 13, and a rest, as I, disposed beneath said opening G, said opening having a rearwardly-inclined upper edge, 4 substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. The combination, with the feeding and discharging devices, an operating-rod, as K L, provided with a spring-metal extension L, having a cam projection, and locking mechanism intermediate said extension and the discharge devices, of a coin-chute arranged to locate the coin with its thickness in the path of the coin projection of the extension L, whereby said extension is moved to release the said locking mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose described.

12. The combination, with merchandise feeding and discharging mechanism, the locking mechanism connected with the discharge-slide, and a coin-chute, of the pull-- rod K, provided with a transverse bar L,

adapted to engage the discharge slide, a

spring-metal extension L, provided witha cam projection W, said extension operating 7 intermediate the locking mechanism and coinchute, said extension adapted when a (30111 1s in the chute to first engage the coin with its cam projection and release the locking devices on the first portion of its pull and to op-, erate the discharge and feed devices on the remainder of its stroke, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

13. The combination, with the dischargeslide, the operating-rod provided with a yielding extension, as L, having a cam projection k and the locking devices intermediate said extension and the slide, said devices unlocked by the outward movement of said extension, of the coin-chute I, provided with a contracted mouth, having one face open to leave a portion of the coin-face free, said face being in the path of the movement of the cam 76 substantially as and for the purpose described.

14. The combination, with discharge-levers and the operating-rod K, provided with a yielding extension, as L, having a cam projection of the coin-chute provided with a recessed portion, as 2, adapted to allow the passage of the cam projection when a coin 1s not in position, substantially as and for the purpose described.

15. In a vending-machine, essentiallyas described, a coin-chute having a contracted mouth, the supporting-edge thereof formed of a spring-actuated pivoted leaf, said leaf provided at its lower edge with a slot of graduated width, substantially as and for the purpose described. 1 I 16. In a vending-machine, essentially as described, the combination, with the dis charge-slide provided with the lock-plate N, having teeth at n, and the pull-rod K, having a coin-operated extension, as L, of the lock.- ing-lever 0, provided with adetent at its forward end adapted to engage either of the teeth 72 n, a forward extension normally engaging the extension L, said lever' thrown out of locked position by thebackward movement of the extension L, and means for throwing said lever back into normal position, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED G. DIETERICH. NVitnesses:

CHAS. A. PETTIT,

SoLoN O. KEMoN. 

